Nearly every day I am going back and forth between sobbing into a size newborn diaper and swaddling blanket and being completely marveled by my growing tiny human. It's a conundrum I must say.

She explores, she walks, she runs, she waddles, she sways, she to- and fros-. I am amazed by this little person who is developing before my eyes. It's one of those things that stops your heart and widens your eyes.

But every once in a while, she looks around to find me. She gives me a wave and makes sure that I am near. For as much as she is developing her independence, she still needs her mama. It's a good thing that I am planning on bunking with her in her college dorm.

I am a wife, a mom to two, a Catholic, and a public health dentist living in our new home on a little island by the San Francisco Bay. I collect sparkling earrings, enjoy drinking tea and red wine, hoard stationery, and take too many iPhone photos.

Here are my stories of the things that matter.And the things that don't too.